Business

Heartland buys 10% of lending platform

14:21 pm on 8 September 2014

Heartland New Zealand has taken a 10 percent stake in New Zealand's only peer-to-peer lending platform.

Harmoney's online lending platform operates much like a dating service, matching lenders to borrowers - but with a regulatory framework to govern the integrity of its management, systems and procedures.

Heartland chief executive Jeff Greenslade said Harmoney complements the bank's niche marketing strategy and is a potentially valuable channel to attract customers, which its current networks do not capture.

Peer-to-peer lending is one of the fastest growing forms of lending, globally. Harmoney estimates the rate of growth is 200 percent a year.

The value Heartland's investment has not been disclosed.